


Glasses

by Pidgeapodge



Series: The Royal Dorks [6]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cute, Family, Gen, Glasses, Izumi is very serious, Mai (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Shopping, Slice of Life, Sweet, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgeapodge/pseuds/Pidgeapodge
Summary: Ten-year-old Izumi picks out her first pair of glasses.
Relationships: Izumi & Mai (Avatar), Izumi & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Royal Dorks [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012743
Comments: 19
Kudos: 160





	Glasses

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this picture by Minireklamo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE6-OGwnip-/?igshid=1b2w1fhgudlgr

Izumi shifted nervously in the carriage. Her parents were taking her to get her very first pair of glasses.

She had noticed recently that she couldn’t see what the teacher wrote on the board in class. She couldn’t see the portrait of Fire Lord Zuko hung at the front of the room either. It was a fuzzy, blurry mess.

Her parents had taken her to an eye doctor, who did lots of tests. He had her read off of a chart with very tiny characters, had her cover one eye and then the other, used magnifying glasses, and eventually diagnosed her with _myopia_. It sounded really scary, until he explained that it was just a fancy word for “nearsighted,” and that she needed help seeing things that were farther away. He wrote out a prescription for glasses.

Izumi knew what glasses looked like. Jing, the really nice scribe who sometimes gave her candy, wore glasses. So did her dad sometimes, for reading documents, even though he didn’t wear glasses all the time. Earth King Kuei wore glasses too.

Still, Izumi was a little nervous. She never wore glasses before. How would they look? Would she look weird? Would people tease her?

The carriage came to a stop, and the family of three exited. The employee at the store welcomed them in, and Izumi saw rows of glasses lined up on the shelves.

“Welcome, Your Majesties. May I ask who is getting glasses?”

Izumi looked up at the employee, and said in a small voice, “Me.”

The employee smiled sweetly at Izumi. “Do you have a prescription?”

Zuko took the prescription from the sleeves of his robes and handed it to the employee. She gestured to the glasses behind her.

“Would you like to pick out the frame, princess?”

“Pick out the frame?”

“For your new glasses. You get to pick the style.”

Izumi’s eyes widened. “Really?”

The employee smiled. “Really.”

Izumi looked over to her parents, who smiled and shooed her over to the shelves. Izumi picked up a pair of round, black frames and put them on. She looked in the mirror to see what she looked like.

Hmm… No, it didn’t complement her face shape. She put the round frames back, and picked up a pair of half-moon shaped frames. No, those ones would be annoying. She put them back.

For the next fifteen or so minutes Izumi tried on different frames, considered them, and put them back. Some she considered more than others; some she ignored entirely.

Soon, the twenty-minute mark was approaching, and Zuko tapped Izumi on the shoulder.

“Are you close to finding one you like, Turtleduck?”

“Don’t rush the process, Dad.”

Zuko exhaled, partly a laugh and partly in frustration. “Izumi, we need to get back to the palace soon. I have to go over the picks for my council.”

“This is _important_ , Dad,” said Izumi, trying to figure out if black or silver looked better.

“As important as picking out a trustworthy council?”

“ _Yes_. As the princess, I need to look my best. And make sure no one’s gonna tease me.”

Zuko actually did laugh that time. He playfully ran his fingers through Izumi’s dark hair coming out of her topknot and going down her back. “No one’s gonna tease you, Turtleduck.”

“Dad, I have to focus!”

“What’s going on over here?” Mai asked, approaching leisurely. “Are we close?”

“Izumi said that choosing the perfect pair of glasses carries as much importance as appointing a trustworthy council.”

Mai smirked. “Well, she’s not wrong.”

“See? Mom gets it!” Izumi placed a pair of silver rectangular frames back on the shelf when she saw it. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw it.

A pair of rectangular, golden frames.

She turned and reached out to get them, and put them on. They were so shiny, and they complemented her face shape nicely.

“These ones!” she said excitedly. “I want these ones!”

Zuko bent down and had Izumi turn around. “You look beautiful, Izumi! Good choice,” he said, smiling.

“You certainly look very regal,” said Mai.

Holding Izumi’s hand, Zuko brought her over to the employee. “We would like to get these ones.”

The employee took the glasses from Izumi and told Zuko the price. He paid, and then they walked out of the store.

“Dad, you didn’t take the glasses back.”

“They need to put in the right lenses. They’ll be delivered to the palace next week,” Zuko said.

One week. She’d need to wait one more week for her glasses.

* * *

Izumi was feeding the turtleducks with her dad when the servant approached with a box.

“Delivery for Princess Izumi,” said the servant.

Izumi took the box and thanked the servant. She promptly ripped open the box, tore out the tissue paper and squealed.

“My glasses! My glasses!”

“Well, put them on!” said Zuko.

Izumi took out the glasses and gingerly placed them on her face. She gasped.

“Dad… Dad I can see everything! Wow… I can see so far!”

Zuko smiled.

“I can see all the leaves on the tree! Even though they’re so small! And I can see all the flowers on the bushes over there! And… and nothing’s blurry!”

Zuko held out his arms, and his daughter took the invitation and hugged him tight.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Izumi beamed at her dad. “Yeah!”

Izumi was rediscovering the beauty of the world, but to Zuko, nothing could compare to the absolutely gorgeous smile on his little girl’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! Kudos and reviews are appreciated! :D


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